


Garrison Days

by MizuLeKitten



Series: Garrison Days [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternative Universe - Garrison, Bisexual Lance, Developing Friendship, Everyday by David Levithan, Fluff, Gay Keith, Hunk's there but only for one scene, Insecure Lance, Low-Key Bullying, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Socially Awkward Keith, because these two are going to spoil you, heavy spoilers for that book, so if you're reading it or plan on reading it make sure to do that first, there's a part where people talk bad about Keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-11-03 03:52:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10959072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MizuLeKitten/pseuds/MizuLeKitten
Summary: Lance had noticed Keith from day one at the Galaxy Garrison, everyone had. He could've been the most popular cadet in their class, he was a talented pilot, smart, and pretty good looking, even if he had a mullet. But Keith was withdrawn, rarely talking to anyone, always alone.Everyone needed a friend though, and Lance was more than willing to be the one to reach out.Everyone needed a friend my ass, Lance thought as he stomped away.





	Garrison Days

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: Everyday by David Levithan is NOT MINE, I am not named David, nor am I a published author. If you plan on reading his book PLEASE read it first. Hell, even if you don't you should go read it eventually. It's a good book.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy~

Lance had noticed Keith from day one at the Galaxy Garrison, everyone had. Their first day on the flight simulator and Keith had flown loops around everyone else’s scores. He had made it seem so easy, doing advanced maneuvers as if he’d been flying for years. His times even beat several of the instructors. Everyone was impressed, Lance sure had been. He could’ve been the most popular cadet in their class, he was a talented pilot, smart, and pretty good looking, even if he had a mullet.

But… to say that Keith was withdrawn would be an understatement. Keith had the brooding emo look down pact, even with the bright orange and white cadet shirts they were all forced to wear. It was clear from the way he carried himself, arms crossed, shoulders hunched, and the perpetual scowl on his face, that he wanted nothing to do with anyone.

Everyone needed a friend though, and Lance was more than willing to be the one to reach out. Some people weren't the best at approaching others, so Lance would take that initial leap for him. It was perfect! With that in mind, Lance set his tray down across from the raven haired man with a smile. He had noticed Keith sitting alone during meals several times now, and figured, since Hunk was still in class during lunch, that he could sit with Keith instead.

“Hey, Keith!” Lance sat with a smile.

Keith looked up from his tray, eyes wide. After a moment his brows knitted together, “who are you?”

Lance flinched slightly. Now _that_ hurt Lance's ego, but he could roll with it. There were a good number of cadets at the Garrison, easy to get lost in the crowd. Even though they had Physics together… and had their simulation tests together… Besides the point. “The name’s Lance, we have Physics together.” He offered up.

Keith's lip jutted out in a small pout before his eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh, that's right,” Lance felt his smile grow before plummeting at his next words, “you're the kid that's always disrupting class. What do you want?”

Okay, yes Lance could be a _little_ disruptive, but that's no reason to call him out on it. He had plenty of other qualities. Handsome, stylish, amazing, the list goes on. “Just needed somewhere to sit while I ate,” he huffed.

Keith’s lips turned downwards at that, like a mini-scowl, as his eyes glanced around d the room. “Don’t you have a bunch of other friends you normally sit with?”

“Well, yeah, but-” Lance started.

“If this is some joke,” Keith interrupted, scowl etching even deeper into his features, “just leave me alone.”

“Dude, I just noticed you were alone and figured you’d want company.”

“I don’t need your pity.” Keith punctured the statement by stabbing at his food.

“Well _sorry_ Mr. Hot Shot, not everyone likes being the brooding emo stereotype.” Lance leaned back and crossed his arms with a huff. _This guy..._

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Grey eyes locked onto his, and Lance could easily make out the fire burning behind them, prompting his response.

“ _I'm Keith, I'm so emo, I don't need people, I'm too cool_ ,” Lance said mockingly.

“I don't sound like that!” Keith growled.

“Yeah, well, you would if you'd ever actually _talk_!” Lance leaned forward subconsciously as he shot back his retort.

“Maybe I don't want to sound like a blubbering idiot!” Keith replied, leaning over his tray, so they were practically butting heads.

“Whatever, man, if you want to sit alone, fine, not my problem.” Lance threw his arms up with a huff before getting up and grabbing his tray. “Have fun, mullet.”

“I will!” Keith shouted as Lance stalked away.

_Everyone needed a friend, my ass,_ Lance thought as he stomped away.

~*~

Lance laughed loudly at the story Samantha was telling. They had invited him to lunch after class, and since Hunk’s and his classes lined up poorly for lunch on most days, he readily agreed. It was an added bonus that Courtney and Jay were both single and ready to mingle.

“Why is Keith staring at you?” Jay leaned to look past Lance.

Lance turned, scanning the cafeteria, and spotting Keith in the same spot he always seemed to sit at, still alone. Their eyes met, but Keith quickly looked away, stabbing his food with a bit too much vigor. _Huh._

“No idea, man,” he shrugged and turned back to the group. “But who cares about that, have you guys been keeping up with Adventure Time?”

Courtney placed a hand on his shoulder, looking up at him in concern. “Lance I don’t think you should just dismiss this.”

“Yeah. I mean, his engineer is Rolo, and everyone knows that he’s into some shady stuff.” Jay said as he grabbed a tray.

“Oh shit, do you think Keith’s going to try and recruit Lance into helping them?” Courtney’s eyes widened and looked to Lance worriedly, “you have to be careful!”

Lance smiled and placed an arm around her shoulders, balancing his tray in his other hand. “Don’t worry, darling, I can protect myself.”

“I doubt Keith is going to try anything.” Samantha rolled her eyes. “I mean, yeah, he’s an ass, but he doesn’t really _talk_ to anyone. So, like, the odds of Rolo actually working with him are slim.” Courtney nodded at that, while Jay looked lost in thought.

“Remember that homework from Professor Thace we had awhile back?” Jay piped up. “I asked Keith for the answers because I didn’t do the assignment, because like, I was busy, and the asshole just glared at me and told me to do it myself. Like what the fuck man, I just asked, no reason to be a jerk about it.” He let out a harsh breath and frowned.

“Oh my god, and remember when that girl… Um, what was her name.” Courtney waved her hand around, “Sammy, you know, the girl, always has her hair up in pigtails.”

“Jenny.” Samantha said as she got a serving of the notorious Galaxy Garrison Mystery Meat.

“Yeah! Jenny. She confessed to him, the poor girl, and he just stared at her before walking away. Like who just does that?” She shook her head.

“I don’t know what she saw in him.” Jay said as the group made it’s way over to a table, Lance dragging behind a bit.

“What about you, Lance,” Samantha looked over at Lance as they sat down. “Didn’t you two get into an argument yesterday?”

Lance laughed awkwardly, all attention now on him. “I wouldn’t call it an argument…”

Jay clapped his hands together. “Maybe that’s why he was staring at you!”

“That can’t be good! What if he’s still mad, and tries to beat you up.” Courtney looked around the group before stopping on Lance. “What do we do?”

“We could report him if he tries anything,” Samantha suggested.

“Not if we beat him to the punch,” Jay looked over to Lance, “ultimately your call, dude.”

Lance shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Yes, Lance could be a bit dramatic, yes, he did his fair share of complaining about people, and yes, he was a bit guilty of spreading some things. He liked to talk, and sometimes thing just came out. That being said, this conversation made him queasy, and he didn’t want to continue it.

“Guys, it’s fine. I don’t think he was even looking at me anyways.” Lance deflected with a wave of his hand.

“But-” Courtney started.

“Oh! Did you guys see last night's episode of Adventure Time,like holy, it was intense.” Lance interrupted quickly.

There was a moment's pause before the others seemed to accept the topic change, and the conversation moved away from Keith, onto other things. Lance felt himself relaxing over time. He caught himself glancing over at Keith periodically, but no one else seemed to notice, or comment on it.

They were both guilty of saying some things yesterday, and dragging Keith because of that, blowing the problem out of proportion so much, just felt wrong. There could be a number of reasons Keith had been looking at him after all, if he had actually been looking at Lance at all. He was one for dramatics, yes, but sometimes it was easier to just move on...

~*~

“Hey, big guy, I heard Iverson gave another one of his famous speeches today.” Lance looked up at his friend from where he was laying on his bunk, surrounded by textbooks and notes. He _had_ been studying, but the conversation from lunch was still gnawing at him. Not to mention word of their instructor’s wrath had spread like wildfire through the Garrison dorms, and he wanted the details. What better place to get information from than from someone who was there?

“Yeah, it was brutal. I wanted to cry just listening to it.” Hunk, his roommate, sniffled, as if just talking about the event would make him tear up.

“At least it wasn’t your unit that got the brunt of it, right buddy?” He sat up and cast a worried look towards his friend. Hunk was a great engineer and Lance would kill to have his best bud on his team, if he ever made fighter pilot (next semester for sure), Hunk tended to suffer from a fear of heights leading to an upset stomach, to put it lightly.

“Luckily,” Hunk shivered. “His speeches are always really intense. I wanted to hug Matt afterwards. It was horrible.”

“Oh, oh, let me guess.” Lance scrambled up, clearing his throat, before lowering his voice to copy that of Iverson’s, “the Galaxy Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you,” he pointed at Hunk, “into the next generation of elite astro-explorers, but these kinds of mental mistakes could easily cost the lives of your whole crew!” He struck a dramatic pose before settling and smiling. “How close was I?”

Hunk chuckled and sat at his desk, “spot on, perfect rendition, 10 outta 10.”

Lance grinned and stretched out his lithe frame, “jeez, I hope I’m never on the receiving end of that speech.”

“You won’t get the chance to be if you don’t do your homework.” Hunk pointed out as he took out his own aforementioned homework.

“We just have a few worksheets from Professor Sendak right?” Lance sifted through the papers on his bunk, trying to differentiate between homework, notes, and the occasional doodle.

“And a reading for Professor Kolivan.”

“Aha!” Lance pulled out several papers, holding them out proudly. “Care to help me with that later buddy?”

“I could help you now.” Hunk suggested.

“Nah, I’m going to head to dinner.” He sprung up from his bunk, patting at his disheveled uniform.

“Want me to come with you?” Hunk asked, looking up from his work.

“No thanks, big guy. I’m going to sit with my new friend.” He flashed Hunk a grin

“New friend? Dude, have you been keeping me out of the loop! You always tell me about new people!” Hunk turned fully in his chair, betrayal painted his features.

“I figured you just tuned out most of my rambling.” Lance admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“No, dude, never! Okay, well, sometimes, but you have bad timing. Like midterms last year. I was happy for you, really, but I was studying, and I’m still not entirely sure what went down between you and that girl.”

“She had a boyfriend, and he didn’t take to well on me hitting on both of them.” Lance said, shrugging, “their loss.”

“Oh, shit, Lance- wait, we’re getting off topic.” Hunk shook his head, “who’s this new friend?”

“Keith.”

“Wait, you mean the same Keith that nearly punched you like… yesterday? That Keith?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Lance crossed his arms and pouted.

“Lance, I hate to be the voice of reason, always, but you literally almost got into a fist fight apparently. So if you don’t mind me asking: _When did you guys become_ _friends_?”

“Well we’re not friends _yet_ but we’re going to be!” Lance said dramatically.

“This doesn’t sound like a good idea. The guy doesn’t talk to anyone, all he ever does is read or fly the sim.” Hunk’s eyes narrowed at the next thought, “isn’t his engineer and communications officer Rolo and Nyma? You know those guys rub me the wrong way!”

“I know, but-”

“Oh god, Lance are you getting into drugs? Do we have to stage an intervention?” Hunk pushed himself out of his seat, hurrying over to Lance, and pulled him close until they were practically nose to nose.

“Hunk, please.” Lance shot him an unimpressed look, unfazed by the closeness, “I’m not getting into drugs, and I doubt Keith is either. You said for yourself he doesn’t talk to anyone, so how the hell would he be able to keep up with the goddess that is Nyma.”

“You’re concerning crush for that woman aside, maybe you _shouldn’t_ bother him anymore? I really don’t want to have to explain to your mom why you have a broken nose.”

Lance rolled his eyes, “first of all: I’d be the one explaining to Mamá what happened. Second of all: Keith isn’t going to punch me. Third of all: we're going to be friends, even if I die trying.”

“Lance, please, self-preservation.” Hunk pleaded. “Is there anything I can do to convince you otherwise?”

“Nope!” He popped the ‘p” loudly. “He’s going to be my friend, it’s already decided.”

“Don’t complain to me when you get hurt.” Hunk sighed, as he headed back to his seat, knowing that arguing with Lance was a losing battle. Once he got something in his head there was little anyone could do to change it, Hunk would know.

“Aw, buddy, you know I will anyways.” Lance said, placing a hand over his heart, and blew a kiss at his best friend.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Hunk sighed, but smiled anyways.

~*~

Lance made his way down the metal hallways, hands stuffed in the pockets of his pants. He smiled at his fellow cadets, waving at some, winking at others. He had a sociable persona to keep up afterall. He liked people, and he liked letting people know that he liked them.

Which is probably why Lance was still so hung up on Keith. Yeah, they’re last conversation didn’t go well at _all,_ but Lance couldn’t just let it end at that. And, to be fair, Keith was just as much to blame as Lance was for that, but still. Keith didn’t seem to talk to _anyone_ outside of the flight simulations his team did, and that didn’t sit right to Lance. Granted Keith probably didn’t see that as a bad thing. He seemed to like being alone well enough though.

Lance came from a big family, meaning you were never alone, there was always an older sibling ready to torment you, or a younger sibling begging to play. Lance was used to the loud, the noise, the attention, and the _people,_ but to not have any of those, to apparently not _want_ any of those things. He just couldn’t fully understand it…

There also might have been the added guilt from their first conversation. His Mamá raised him right, so leaving that disaster of a talk at that wouldn't stand.

Not to mention the conversation at lunch with Courtney, Jay, and Samantha...

Thusly, upon entering the cafeteria he looked around. He figured that this would most likely be the time that Keith would be eating; it wasn’t empty, it never was, but it wasn’t full either. It was like post rush hour in a coffee shop or restaurant, people still lingering, finishing up, but nothing overwhelming. He made his way towards the table he’d seen Keith at before, and spotted a familiar mop of black hair. Lance smiled. It seemed Keith was already there, tray placed in front of him, but oddly untouched. Instead he was staring at something in his hands. Upon getting closer, it was a book.

“Hey buddy!” Lance called. Keith looked up from his book, eyes wide in surprise, before he scowled.

“Why are you back?” He asked, setting the book down.

“Figured you’d miss my charm.” Lance wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Keith. He sat down across from. Keith, the same spot as before, and Keith’s scowl deepened for a moment, brows knitting together as he studied Lance's face.

“What charm?” Lance squawked indignantly. If Lance was the only one trying to make this friendship work then- Lance paused as he took in Keith's expression. No scowl. Actually it looked like he was smirking and a mischievous glint dances across his eyes.

“Wait, wait, wait, was that a joke?” Lance's mouth hung in shock, eyes darting across the other’s face. _There was no way Keith made a joke._

Keith shrugged, lips curling upwards even more, “maybe.”

“Holy cheese balls, you aren’t just an asshole!” Lance exclaimed before his mind had time to catch up to his mouth.

“Who said I was,” Keith’s frown returned.

Lance put his hands up in a placating gesture. “Not me man, but you have to admit you’re not the most approachable of people.” Lance questioned if pointing this out to people you just finally started having a civil conversation with to was a good idea but… too late now.

“Oh…” Keith's face fell, and he ducked his head. He actually looked… distraught over this fact?

“Dude, you literally got into an argument with me over the fact that I was sitting with you.” Lance stated.

“I know,” Keith groaned and covered his face with his hands. “I thought you were fucking with me.”

“Eh, it’s alright dude, don’t worry about it. We both said some things.” Lance waved his hand dismissively.

“No, it's not,” he groaned, “Shiro always says I'm too blunt.”

Lance nodded at that. “I mean, a bit, but I didn't really make it easy on you. Redo?” He offered his hand to him.

Keith regarded his hand moment before nodding, “redo.”

Lance didn't bother fighting the grin that spread across his face. “The name's Lance.”

“Keith, but, uh, you already knew that.” Keith ran his fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Nuh uh, nope, we did a redo. Everything I knew about you before I don't know anymore.” Lance crossed his arms and gave a nod.

“But you can't just forget things at a moment's notice. That's not possible.” Keith regarded him with a confused expression.

“Keith, buddy, did you even know what you were agreeing to when we said redo?”

“A chance to start over from last time?”

“Not just from last time! In general! From now on I'm getting to know the real Keith, not the potential drug dealer that Hunk thinks you are.”

“The what?” Keith startled. “I'm not- why the hell would I be a drug dealer!”

Lance laughed at Keith's face, “Rolo is your engineer, and my buddy Hunk gets rubbed the wrong way by him, so he thought you might be in on whatever Rolo is.”

Keith slumped back and pouted, actually _pouted._ “I don't even talk to Rolo and Nyma outside of the sim.”

“That's… actually kind of sad.” Lance frowned.

Keith rolled his eyes, “they're not really my type, so to speak.”

“You're on a team with Nyma though, _Nyma!_ Dude, she's like the hottest girl here.” Lance threw up his hands, “how can you not take advantage of the position you're in. You could, lik.e ask for help whenever and have ,like, study dates! I _wish_ I was as lucky as you.”

“Yeah, sure, I guess…” Keith looked away from Lance, shoulders tensing up.

Lance noticed this immediately, and tried not to frown. He had heard rumors that Keith ignored Nyma’s advances, and others that said Nyma had been the one to ignore _him_. Regardless of which was the case, that seemed to be a sore subject. He looked around, trying to think of something else to say when his eyes landed on the book Keith had in front of him.

“Holy shit! Is that _Everyday_ by David Levithan?” Lance exclaimed, surging forward. His eyes zipped back and forth between the book and Keith’s startled face, “I mean, it obviously is, because I can read, but like, I can’t believe you’re reading it! I love that book, Rhiannon’s conflict with A is so interesting! I mean, I understand where they’re coming from, but she… she has to deal with them changing bodies all the time!” Lance waved his arms around as he talked, his face lighting up, “I just- no one else I know has read it.” He smiled sheepishly.

Keith was openly staring at him, and the silence began to settle around them. He expected Keith to laugh at him, but instead he continued to stare at Lance, grey eyes locked onto blue.

Lance could feel himself starting to fidget, beginning to regret going off at Keith. Yeah Keith seemed to read a lot but that didn't mean he wouldn't make fun of Lance for it like others had when he was younger. Oh god, what if he thought that Lance was just a big weirdo? They literally just started over and Lance ruined it-

“I think it’s stupid that A wants to be with her so badly,” Keith commented.

Lance looked up, trying to, and failing at, hiding the shock on his face. Keith wasn’t looking at him anymore, his gaze had shifted to his lap, and he was pulling at his hair again.

A grin found it’s way to Lance’s face. “What part are you at? I don’t want to accidentally spoil you.”

A tentative smile formed on Keith’s face, and Lance knew, right then, that the redo had been worth it.

~*~

When Lance got back to his room later on, Hunk was genuinely surprised he hadn't come back bruised and bloody, so he _may_ have spent a good portion of the night “correcting” his friends assumptions. And if he never hung out with Samantha, Courtney, and Jay again, well, they didn’t have to know the exact reason.

~*~

“Who's your favorite character so far?” Lance asked as soon as he sat down across from Keith.

Keith was silent for a moment, eyebrows furrowing and lips pulled into a small pout before he responded with a nod. “Rhiannon, she’s my favorite.”

The past few days had passed like this: Lance would ask a question as soon as he sat down, get a one or two sentence answer, and then ramble on about the topic. He left room for Keith to interject, and the boy would, occasionally, but for the most part it was just Lance talking. He had no problem with this. It was just how their friendship worked for now.

Lance quirked an eyebrow in surprise, “really?”

“She’s the only one who actually thinks any of this through, so far at least,” Keith stated, gesturing to the book beside him.

Lance mulled the idea over in his head for a moment before nodding. “Yeah… Yeah! She’s pretty smart. She doesn’t just believe A without any evidence, or immediately write them off as crazy. She’s willing to hear them out and everything!” Lance gestured widely in growing excitement. “ And, even though her boyfriend’s a jerk, she doesn’t just automatically follow what A tells her. Instead she thinks about it all, and makes her own opinion on it!” Keith nodded along to his words. “Plus you have the fact, despite how weird the situation is, she’s super understanding for someone in her position. Like, she’s freaked out and all, but she’s not… panicking, I guess. I mean who wouldn’t be a little freaked out, right?”

“Yeah,” Keith gave a small head bob.

“Oh, you know who I really like?” Lance clapped his hands together. “Like, this is going to sound really stupid, but bear with me... Nathan.”

Keith’s eyes grew wide, “what?”

“Yeah. He’s just, I pity him. He woke up in his car with little to no recollection of what had happened throughout the day, surrounded by cops. I’d freak out and claim the devil possessed me too if I were him!”

“So?” Keith crossed his arms with a huff, “The guy’s an asshole. Why would your first assumption be that you were fucking possessed? There’s a number of drugs that can make memory splotchy, and it’s not like he doesn’t remember _anything._ He has enough memory to track down A’s email after all. Then he literally starts harassing A,” he throws his hands up in the air, exasperated,  “ _and_ threatening him, not to mention spreading false truths. He pretty much creates a fucking cult just because he’s a little freaked out.” He settles down, looking Lance dead in the eye, and with a final huff adds, “why should I pity him?”

Lance stared at Keith in open shock. “Wow, you’ve thought about this a lot.”

“And you haven’t?” Keith replied sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. “You literally just told me all the reasons you also like Rhiannon.”

“I didn’t realize you were _that_ into the book.” Lance responded.

“You practically attacked me when you saw I had it not even a few days ago!” Keith countered.

“Sue me, I was excited!”

“Yeah, well, I am too, so if that bothers you you can just leave.” Keith stated with finality before grabbing the book from it’s place beside him and opening it.

“Keith, that’s not- I didn’t-” Lance sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He forgot Keith was a bit on the literal side, and quick to attack. “I’m sorry.” Keith didn’t close the book, but Lance saw his eyes flick up towards his own, and continued. “I didn’t mean it that way. I was just surprised. You’re so quiet all the time I just… I didn’t expect it. I mean we’ve been talking about _Everyday_ for a few days now and you’ve barely said much. Which is fine, you don’t have to talk, Hunk says that I do enough talking for a whole group of people,” he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “but just now, wow, Keith, my man, you _surprised_ me. If I knew that all I had to do, to get you to talk, was bring up something you didn’t agree with, dude, I would’ve been bugging you with petty arguments _way_ before now. So, yeah, it doesn’t bother me.” Lance didn’t dare to look up and meet the other’s gaze as he fidgeted in his seat.

“I-I’m sorry too…” Lance’s head whipped up, not expecting the apology. “I’m not the best with people. You were just trying to talk. I shouldn’t’ve… I shouldn’t’ve reacted like that.” Keith had put the book down, and had begun playing with the wispy strands of hair around the nape of his neck.

Lance gave Keith a soft smile. “No worries, I can be a bit overwhelming. Think we can go back to talking about Nathan without killing each other?”

“I think so. As long as you don’t get too excited,” Keith gave him a teasing grin.

“Holy crow, ladies and gentlemen he made another joke!” Lance threw his hands up in the air. “Today is truly a blessed day!”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Quit being so overdramatic and make a better case on why I should pity Nathan.”

“Oh, it’s on. You’re going to pity him so hard when I’m done with you.” Lance’s eyes narrowed at the challenge.

“Show me what you got,” Keith leaned forward, the same competitive glint reflecting in his eyes.

~*~

“Just tell me,” Keith sighed as he stabbed at his food.

“I can’t!” Lance waved his fork in the air before pointing it towards Keith, “It’s a spoiler, Keith, a spoiler.”

“Yeah, well you’re doing a pretty shitty job at keeping it one,” he grumbled.

Lance gasped, holding a hand over his heart, “how dare- I haven’t told you anything yet.”

“You keep _starting_ to before breaking off into mumbling about how I’m not at that part yet! Just tell me.”

“Nope,” he responded with a resounding pop.

“ _Lance,_ ” Keith growled out, leveling him with a glare that wasn’t as intimidating as it once was.

“Fine, but just remember this was your idea.”

“Just get on with it.” Another sigh, but Lance was too busy thinking about the book to be offended.

“Okay, so,” Lance began, shifting forward in his seat so that he was leaning across the table. An outsider might think he was getting ready to tell a secret with the way he glanced around before meeting Keith’s, unimpressed, gaze. “Later on we find out…”

Although Lance told Keith some things, he tried not to spoil anything too major.

~*~

“I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been switching bodies so much. I mean, you don’t have _any_ stability like that.” Lance stretched his arms out, almost hitting Keith in the process. He had given up on sitting across from Keith a while ago. It was easier to talk about the book when they could both site lines directly from the text, and passing the book across the table over and over again had gotten annoying quick.

“You get used to it after awhile.” Keith said as he stabbed at his plate. “What even _is_ this?”

“Sweet potato puree,” Lance poked at his own serving, “at least it’s supposed to be. Also how would you know what it’s like?” He gasped loudly after a moment, putting a hand over his heart. “Is this where you admit that you’re secretly a body swapper too? What’s the secret to staying in one body? You have to tell me.” Lance nudged Keith’s shoulder playfully.

“Good behavior,” Keith chewed on a mouthful of food and grimaced.

“What?” Lance chuckled, side-eyeing him, “dude that doesn’t even make sense.”

“Good behavior means you’re more likely to stay put, act out, and you get shipped off to some other foster family.” Keith shrugged. “It’s more or less same premise as what A’s going through if you think about it. Well it’s probably a bit more stable, I guess, never changed bodies before.” Keith smiled as if he was telling a joke only he was privy to.

Lance paused, the implication setting in, “th-that’s heavy, man,” he stared at Keith, as he took another bite of the puree.

Keith just shrugged in response and swallowed, “like I said, you get used to it.”

Lance looked away, wondering how to broach the topic without sounding like an ass. If there was one thing Lance had learned about Keith it was that he didn’t like beating around the bush.

“So...” he drawled out, leaning back before glancing at Keith, “you’re an orphan?”

“Yup, since I was about five, but hey it got me a full ride scholarship here so...” He chuckled softly, breaking Lance’s heart even more.

“Oh.” Lance responded. An awkward silence, at least awkward to Lance, descended upon them.

Keith sighed before turning his body to face Lance fully. “Don’t pity me, and don’t apologize. I’m an orphan, dad died, mom was never in the picture, so what? It’s not like it’s a big deal.”

Lance floundered for something to say, “I wasn’t going to- okay, well, I was thinking about apologizing, but I didn’t! So ha!” He crossed his arms and gave a self satisfied nod.

Keith’s eyes softened and his lips turned upwards ever so slightly. “No, you didn’t.”

“Don’t patronize me, Mullet!” Lance poked the center of Keith’s chest.

“I wasn’t patronizing you-” Keith exclaimed.

“It was in your tone!”

“-and what does that even mean?” He pulled at his hair, and if Lance didn’t know better, which he obviously did, he’d say that Keith almost looked self conscious of his hair.

Lance snorted, “the 80’s called, they want their hair back.”

The resulting argument led to Lance threatening to cut Keith’s hair in his sleep, and Keith returning the threat with shaving Lance bald. The slight awkwardness from before was forgotten as lunch moved forward, but Lance didn’t forget the tidbit of information. Keith didn’t think that it was important though, so Lance wouldn’t either. It wasn’t how their friendship worked.

~*~

“Why’d you start reading _Everyday_?” It was pizza day in the cafeteria, so the dining hall was filled more than usual, but they still met up.

“I’ve read his other books, and liked them. Figured this one was probably just as good.” Keith shrugged.

“Oh! Which ones?” Lance smiled at him. He had been meaning to pick up some of David’s other books, but with Garrison life picking up, stupid midterms, he hadn’t been able to check any out. Maybe he could read the ones that Keith had read already and they could talk about those too.

Keith shifted in his seat before meeting Lance’s eyes. “ _Boy Meets Boy_ and _Two Boys Kissing_ ,” Lance didn’t say anything, the implications of his words not yet sinking in. Keith continued to watch Lance, before rolling his eyes. “If you have a problem with that you can lea-”

Realization hit Lance like a truck. “No, no, I was just surprised is all!” He waved his hands around, stopping Keith mid sentence. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of the “Nathan Debate.” Keith leveled him with an unimpressed stare, and Lance floundered to bridge the gap his silence had caused. “No, seriously. Like I’m bi as fuck, man. I mean, it should be illegal to keep all of this from anyone,” he gestured to himself and smirked.

The heat in Keith’s eyes died, and his face took on a pink tint. “Oh. Cool… I-I’m gay, if you, um, if you didn’t realize.” He looked down at his tray as he tugged at the longer strands of his hair.

Lance couldn’t help the small chuckle that came out. “Yeah, I gathered as much when you tried to bite my head off.”

Keith whipped his head up, “I didn’t-” he paused, floundered, and looked away, “Okay, well, most people aren’t as accepting so excuse me for getting defensive.” He huffed and crossed his arms defensively over his chest.

“I feel ya. Like my family was really accepting when I came out for the most part, but one of my aunts,” Lance paused and grimaced, “let’s just say I’ve learned to avoid her when the family gets together.”

“Oh. I’ve never really stayed in one place long enough to ‘officially’ come out.” Keith made air quotes around the word “officially” and rolled his eyes.

“Well you just came out to me, so that counts!” Lance grinned at Keith and punched Keith playfully on the shoulder.

Keith just snorted in response, “If you say so Lance.” There was no malice in his words, only unadulterated fondness.

~*~

“What about you,” Keith turned to Lance as they put their trays on the dishwasher assembly line.

“Hm?” Lance looked up from their discarded trays confused, “what about me what?”

He rolled his eyes. “Why do you read?”

“Oh,” Lance tapped his finger on his chin as they both walked towards the exit of the cafeteria. “In books anything can happen. Nothing’s truly unattainable, nothing’s impossible. If you try hard enough you’ll make it.” He paused, eyes downcast, “I guess that’s why this book’s stuck with me so much. Even though A’s tried so hard… in the end they have to part ways. They don’t get their happy ending.” Lance gave a watery laugh that sounded more like a choked out sob than an actual laugh. “That’s real life for you; no matter how hard I try I’m still nothing.”

Silence fell upon the duo, leaving Lance’s words to hang in the air around them. After a moment Lance seemed to realize the weight of his words and grinned, too big and too wide, “I’m just kidding-”

Keith’s hands landed on Lance’s shoulders, and he was turned to looked at the slightly shorter boy. There was a determination in Keith’s eyes that Lance had seen many times before, whether it be during a particularly taxing simulation, or when they were debating two different points from the book. The look made any and all words die on Lance’s tongue, and they stood there in silence a moment before Keith began.

“I believe in you,” he said, and to anyone else that might’ve meant little, but here, standing only a few inches away from one another, Lance could easily make out every single emotion in Keith’s eyes, could feel the support and utter belief be transferred through them. It spread through Lance like wildfire, and he could feel his eyes tear up.

Keith’s eyes widened in panic at this. The previous confidence replaced by an overwhelmingly obvious “Oh, shit, I fucked up,” feel. Lance couldn’t help but laugh at that as he wiped the growing tears on his uniform sleeve.

“Thanks man,” Lance said with a sniffle. He took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “You know, most people, looking at you, would probably think you really suck at the whole comfort thing,” Lance caught a confused look from Keith from the corner of his eye, and he grinned, “and they’d be 100% right.”

“Hey!” Keith let out an indignant squawk, “I was _trying_ to be supportive!”

“I know, but you should’ve _seen_ your face when I started to tear up. It’s like you’ve never comforted someone before.”

“Well… I haven’t. You’re kind of the first friend I’ve ever really had.” Keith looked to the ground as he tugged at his hair.

A softer smile spread across Lance’s face. He threw an arm around Keith’s shoulders as they walked. “Well I’ve got just the person for you to meet. Hunk is _thee_ embodiment of sunshine and rainbows and everything good in this world. You’ll love him. Come on, he’s probably in our room doing homework or something.”

“Oh, so being a responsible student unlike someone I know,” Keith deadpanned.

“Hey! I’ll have you know I am a _very_ serious student.” Lance ruffled Keith’s hair, resulting in the boy yelping and breaking free of his grasp, laughing softly.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Keith’s eyes lit up at the playful banter, and Lance couldn’t help but feel drawn to reciprocate.

“Pft, now we have to go to my room so I can show you all the work I’ve done, screw meeting Hunk.” Lance grabbed Keith’s wrist and sped up.

When Lance turned back to look at Keith he was met with the most blinding smile he had ever seen. Keith’s eyes were scrunched up and shone bright. His smile was perfect, and created little dimples on his cheeks. Lance tried to recall what he used to think of when he thought of Keith. He recalled the words, emo, loner, and angry, but he couldn’t paint a picture in his mind. Now though,he knew that those weren’t true, that Keith didn’t “hate” everyone. The real Keith was passionate, happy, albeit grumpy looking, and interesting.

Keith may not have many friends, and Lance may have many, but something about this friendship in particular just felt special, just felt right. He briefly wondered what it would’ve been like in an alternate universe, one where they never got to know each other at the Garrison, and quickly dismissed the thought. He valued this friendship too much to entertain the thought of not having it.

Lance’s grip on Keith’s wrist tightened a fraction. Screw it if Keith thought it was weird; Lance had no intention of letting go. Their friendship may have started because of A’s and Rhiannon’s, but it wasn’t going to end like theirs had. They made their way down the Garrison hallways in a comfortable silence, and if Lance doesn’t let go of Keith’s wrist until they get to his dorm room, neither of them comment on it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> SO That was a thing! xD I hope you liked it!  
> I legit binge read Everyday in two days because my friend said it would be perfect for them to talk about (and they were right). It wasn't supposed to play such a big role in the fic, but like... as you can see that wasn't the case. So again: go read it. It's a good book. Made me have feelings.  
> On a different note: I have plans for at least 2 more installments, and a bunch of little ficlets, which will probably get the fuck away from me because What Is Restraint, for this AU. So be on the lookout for that if you want.  
> And if you wanna like talk to me about anything you can hit me up on tumblr, mizulekitten.  
> So yee  
> Hope you all have a fantastic day!


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